


it won't feel like christmas (without you)

by softinnocence



Series: there is nothing i can do (i'm stuck with you) [2]
Category: New Girl (TV 2011)
Genre: 2020, Christian Holidays, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cute Ending, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, Love, Nick Miller being PERFECT, Short One Shot, again more lockdown stuff, is - Freeform, the, worst - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28241697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softinnocence/pseuds/softinnocence
Summary: "because he understands that 2020 was a crappy year for sure. it was the kind of year that you would read about in those teen novels that his publisher would give him for inspiration and he would roll his eyes but then think about how he would survive the post-apocalyptic world."or jess freaks about the 2020 christmas but nick was there with her.
Relationships: Jessica Day & Nick Miller, Jessica Day/Nick Miller
Series: there is nothing i can do (i'm stuck with you) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058261
Comments: 14
Kudos: 27





	it won't feel like christmas (without you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [funidontlikeyoueither](https://archiveofourown.org/users/funidontlikeyoueither/gifts), [Gleaminginthespotlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gleaminginthespotlight/gifts).



> this fic is given to you for the festive season by me not feeling christmas at ALL this year and me not understanding how to read a simple question asking my name (stop laughing KC!!!!). which is sad because i love chimbo so much. oh well, anyway this was betaed by the amazing KC! which i am so grateful for, she read the first 800 words and corrected the rest is my work cause it is gifted to her, so i wanted the end to be a surprise for her! anyway, KC thank you so much your amazing my UK buddy who can't tell if she has lived in the north or south of england for the last 16yrs. merry Christmas girly, i would be the worst writer if it wasn't for you and am so glad i'm entering 2021 with you on my team!! i hope you get everything you want!!
> 
> and ofc for JJ who has made my year just by being in my life. thank you for being the best hype buddy and just being to kind to everyone. we owe you the world girl, you are too pure for all of our own good. hears to the new year and i am so glad i am entering it with you on my side. i wish you the best Christmas and hope it's one of the best yet!
> 
> you are both wonderful and cannot to work with you more in the future!!
> 
> enjoy!

**it won't feel like christmas (without you)**

It was that time of year again. It’s that time of year that Nick Miller has to work overtime at the bar because of all those old drunks who hate this season as much as him. The time of year that Nick has to think of meaningful gifts so no one thinks he is a bad person. It’s the time of the year he watches his girlfriend drive herself to extreme measures to make sure December is perfect for everyone but herself.

_ (that’s the type of person jessica day is. she will make everyone’s life perfect apart from hers) _

Nick knows it’s the time of year again, even though this year has been different indeed, as his girlfriend isn’t in their bed early in the morning in December the first and some Christmas music is flowing throughout the loft. He wants to groan, but this year has been so hard and he wants to give her a win.

_ (it was annoying how he would do anything for her. like jess could kill someone and he would help her hide the body) _

“Nick!” Jess calls from the hallway, skipping into their bedroom which used to be hers. Nick made his home in it because the mattress was beautiful, soft, and warm. Not because he was in love with the girl in the doorway, with tinsel in her hair and tangled fairy lights in her hands. It was the mattress.

_ (it wasn’t the mattress and jess and nick both knew that) _

Jess, to Nick, couldn’t look more perfect. Her hair was in a high ponytail and in his old light-grey crewneck, and her eyes sparkled with pure joy. December welcomes a new Jess. She thrived in this time of year, but really Nick loved Jess any time of the year.

_ (early in the new year, jess works hard to stick to her new year resolutions. spring lets Jess wear those bright dresses that she loves and begs nick to get her a dog because she sees everyone buying puppies and going for walks with them. summer lets jess be in even more bright colors and he watches her walk down the beach, eating the house out of ice cream. fall gives her the sense that those crewnecks that she steals from him are for her, like they were made for her and her only.) _

“Hey, Jess.” She smiles at him. “Putting up the decorations?” He rubbed his eyes, pushing himself out of bed to see the mess that she had made of their loft.

_ (because he understands that 2020 was a crappy year for sure. it was the kind of year that you would read about in those teen novels that his publisher would give him for inspiration and he would roll his eyes but then think about how he would survive the post-apocalyptic world. he was glad for 2020. Sure it was worrying to see the news, but he gets to sit at home, do nothing all day, watch t.v, eat all the food, and basically live a new life. but to jess she had tried to not show how scared she was, or how bored she was, but nick knew. he knew his girl. he heard her complaining to herself in the spare bedroom, crying, coming out with puffy cheeks, and when he asked, she would just say she hit her toe or that period cramps were being a pain.) _

“I can’t reach them, I need your help,” she says, looking at him now. Instead, she was trying to untangle the lights in her hands. “They are in Winston’s old room.” She looks up to him for a few seconds to give him a puppy dog look before carrying on with the task in her hands.

Nick runs his hands down his face, knowing she has those lights hidden, ‘cause that’s the sort of thing he would have thrown out because untangling them includes so much work. “Jessica.”

Jess looks up from the lights with the use of her full name, still smiling at him.

“You need to find your own jumpers, woman,” he moans rolling out of bed, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

* * *

With the tree in the corner of the dining room, and little ornaments dotted in places around the loft, Nick and Jess fish through the box of tree decorations to hang on the tree. With _ One More Sleep _ playing softly in the background, they hang the ornaments quietly. Jess was humming under her breath and Nick couldn’t stop smiling.

_ (he knows how long she has been waiting for this day, the day after halloween she begged nick to help put the christmas stuff up, but he made her pinky promise that she would wait until december first) _

With the tree decorated and the boxes were thrown into the spare room, Nick was ready to go back to bed and aimlessly scroll through Instagram and watch his friends’ videos that they had sent to him.

_ (in the world of a pandemic, the boys had made a group chat where they sent memes to each other, like teen boys. adding robby to the chat meant a lot more unworthy content, but nick is grateful to be able to catch up and have this form of contact with his friends.) _

However with Jess, it doesn’t end there, it becomes even more stressful. She starts pulling out her baking stuff, turning up the music, humming louder.

Nick senses the stress from the sofa and makes his way to the kitchen watching her, leaning over the island. She pulls things off the shelf, flour and the hidden cinnamon because whenever they have pancakes, he puts  _ way _ too much on them.

_ (“nick, stop.” jess tries to take a jar of cinnamon away from him on day 89 of the lockdown. _

_ “no, jess, it needs more!” nick holds the jar closer to his chest and leaning out of her reach. _

_ “nick, trust me, there is more cinnamon than pancakes on your plate!” _

_ “and that makes it so good!” jess starts leaning over the table trying to grab the jar again. nick holds it above his head, standing on his chair watching his girlfriend pout and still aimlessly trying to reach the jar which was 5 feet above her head. _

_ “nicholas miller, give. me. the. cinnamon.” her tone was leaning into principal jess, but nick wanted the cinnamon much more than most things right now. _

_ “give me the cinnamon or I swear to all the sweet and holy things that i will kick you out of my bed tonight.” jess stood below him looking up, blue eyes dark with anger. _

_ let's just say that he gave the cinnamon back because he loved his girlfriend more than cinnamon.) _

“Jessica,” Nick shouts over the loud music and the rattle of cake tins.

Jess blanks him, mumbling something untellable, still trying to find something among the many draws because now that all the other roommates have left the house they understood that half their stuff wasn’t in the loft anymore.

It wasn't until Nick moved to find her phone turning off a horrible Christmas song on her playlist that she stopped what she was doing to give him an evil look.

“Look, Nick, I know you’re a grinch, but please put that back on.”

_ (the stress was clear in her eyes. normally on this day, they would be filled with joy and the sparkle of the light would make them shine. nick years watched at a distance for many years, but for one of his first christmases with jess, he wanted to see that sparkle up close.) _

“Jessica, what’s going on?” Whenever he uses her full name, he knows that Jess knows he is being real with her. Or playing around with her, depends on the day.

She sighs deeply and places the bowl and spoon she had in her hands. Her head is thrown back and Nick can see she is holding back tears. He normally isn’t good with emotions, he hates them and didn’t want to talk about them in other relationships. But with Jess it’s different. He knows she is feeling before she is even in a room. His life is linked to hers.

“This year is different, ya know?” Nick leans on the side studying her carefully. “Like we planned last year how everyone would come back to the loft and have a party, we were going to see Ruth’s first Christmas, but now we are going to miss it, I miss my parents so much, Nick.  _ So _ much. I am not feeling Christmas this year Nick. I’m scared that this is going to be the same next year.”

As Nick watched as tears fell down her cheeks he pulled her into his arms letting her salty tears make his shirt wet. He didn’t care about the shirt or the flour all over the floor or the world outside, only the woman in his arms. His chin was tucked under his head and he could feel her breathing unevenly trying to slow it because she gets embarrassed about outbursts of emotions.

“Jess, it’s not going to be normal this year, I don’t think anything will be normal for a while...”

“Wow, Miller, that helped.” Jess laughed through tears under his chin.

“Let me finish, Day, jee.” She laughed again, pulling away to look into his eyes. “But trust me when I say that Christmas is on. We can FaceTime all the family and our friends which I know isn’t the same, but at least when the vaccine is more openly available we can see them. And won’t it be nice to have a quiet Christmas just you and me?” Jess smiles rolling her eyes. “Loads more food, no annoying men taking gift-giving way too far, and just a day for you and me before we have to deal with their messes again.”

Jess hugs him again tightly while Nick kisses her forehead sweetly. “Thank you.” She breathed.

“But seriously, Jess.” She looked up at him again. “I want to do all the Christmas stuff that you and Cece do, all those crafts, baking, I don’t care. I just want to make you happy.” He winces at his cheesy last sentence.

“Awe, are you willing to agree to domestic fluff throughout December?” Jess looks up with those blue eyes which have returned the bright blue that make Nick’s heart flip.

“And you're not getting any more gifts off me this month, Day. That’s my Christmas gift to you. Nothing else.”

_ (he doesn’t say about the necklace he saw on etsy and brought it for her. or the wool, books, and crafts he has hidden in the office for her on christmas day. or the ring in his blazer pocket in their wardrobe that he wanted to give her soon but right now it doesn’t feel right. it needs to be perfect) _

She grins back up at him, pats him on the cheek before throwing him a bright pink apron.

“First things first, cake.”

He rolls his eyes, putting in on, giving her a turn, making her laugh.

“Why do I do this again?” He muttered under his breath, picking the wooden spoon of the side.

“You once said you loved me.” Jess grinned, measuring the flour.

“And somehow I still do” he shrugged, making eye contact with her.

He placed a chaste kiss on her lips, one that was fast but had promises of many more in the future. And for that, they couldn’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> each of the kudos, comments, bookmarks, recs are like giving me a christmas present. so give them to me. i want all of your love.
> 
> have the best festive season and take on nick's words! i know how hard it is going to be and if you need any help please go onto my tumblr and talk to me!! MERRY FESTIVE PERIOD!! <333
> 
> tumblr - brightinnocence


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